Basketball Game Preview: Hernando Leopards vs. Springstead Eagles

The Hernando Leopards will head out on the road to take on the Springstead Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hernando has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Hernando is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They greeted the New Year with with a 78-61 victory over Weeki Wachee. The win continues a trend for the Leopards in their matchups with the Hornets: they've now won three in a row.

Blake Williams

Steals

01/06/26 @ Weeki Wachee	5
01/03/26 vs Zephyrhills	1
01/02/26 vs Sunlake	2
12/16/25 vs Hudson	1
12/12/25 vs River Ridge	2
+ 19 more games

Hernando's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Michael Brown, who shot 85% from the field on his way to 24 points in addition to five boards and three steals, and Blake Williams, who almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. What's more, Williams posted five steals, the most he's had since back in December of 2024. Nate Blomberg was another key player, going 5-for-9 en route to 11 points.

Hernando was working as a unit and finished the game with 25 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Springstead played a tough matchup on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by East Lake and fell 75-20. While losing is never fun, Springstead can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 644th, while East Lake is ranked 77th).

Mikael Shackelford was Springstead's leading scorer, having posted five points. Sam Franco took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with three assists.

Hernando's victory bumped their record up to 4-11. As for Springstead, they dropped their record down to 2-15 with the loss, which was their ninth straight at home.

Hernando didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Springstead in their previous meeting back in November of 2025, but they still walked away with a 52-46 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Leopards since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.